Custom-made surfaces: ROBOLASER makes it possible.

Welding, hardening, or deposition welding: OR Laser’s ROBOLASER offers a professional-grade robot-controlled laser system that permits a variety of different processing methods using a single laser. To achieve this highly customized functionality, the robo-laser uses multiple processing heads, which can be switched out in just minutes.

The processing heads: Variable control of the weld width.

Using a line scanner, the ROBOLASER creates track widths in excess of 15 mm without reducing the power density at the spot. This makes it possible for all seam types (butt welds, fillet welds, overlap welds) to weld components up to the highest industrial standards, even when the gap and position tolerances are too large for conventional laser welding.

The variability of the track width leads to further applications in the field of laser surface processing. The ROBOLASER stands out as an ideal unit for laser hardening and cladding with powder, and it’s exclusively for sale from OR Laser.

Optional: Operating via ORLAS SUITE

The ORLAS SUITE from OR Laser is an unprecedented new CAD/CAM environment for planning nearly all facets of laser processing: marking, engraving, cutting, welding, cladding, and powder-based additive manufacturing processes.

This is the first and only comprehensive software for industrial laser applications that is actually able to read and process all proprietary file formats and control all existing laser systems.

The ORLAS SUITE is excellently suited for supporting and planning processing strategies. The software supports the most popular 3D CAD file formats including STEP and IGES. The system also doubles as a tool for classic welding and marking tasks as well as powder-based laser cladding (also for depositing multiple layers).

Welding

Laser welding creates inseparable bonds between individual components. In this way, differentiation is made between surface heat conduction welding and deep welding, where the materials are melted at depth. The advantages of laser welding include the low thermal load for the material and the high speed of the process. As such, the ROBOLASER reaches a welding speed of around 2 m/min for stainless steel with a track width of approximately 1.6 mm and a melting depth of 1.4 mm, with a laser power of approximately 700 W.Customer sample production. Laser welding of stainless steel housing

Further Advantages

The high welding speed and the small weld width cause a clearly smaller heat-affected zone in the immediate vicinity of the weld during laser welding.

The resulting internal stress is thereby smaller than with conventional welding processes. Welding can be done with or without a filler material (e.g. wire).

Laser cutting

As a disjoining procedure the laser cutting counts as significant building block of the repertoire of laser applications.

A focused laser beam melts the material, and cutting gases blow the molten mass out of the joint gap.

The relative speed between the cutting nozzle and the work piece creates a fine-cut edge, which does not need to be post-processed.

One of the advantages of this procedure is that complex geometries and contours can be produced quickly.

Another well-known property of this quasi-touchless procedure is the minimal thermal deformation due to the low heat input.

Laser cutting

Laser cladding with powder

In the case of laser cladding with powder, a gas mixture with fine metal powder is supplied. The metal powder melts at the heated location and connects itself with the workpiece.

In addition to manual laser welding with wire, this procedure is another way to quickly process components weighing up to several tons.

The method both is cost-effective and has the precision of an industrial robot. Considering the sizable costs of unused downtime, this technology offers an enormous cost advantage, as the material deposition is performed close to the final contours.

Applications for laser cladding with powder

In industrial applications, laser cladding with powder is used mainly fully automated, but it may also be done manually.

Application of a wear protection layer onto a knife by means of laser powder cladding

Hardening

Laser hardening is intended to increase the mechanical resistance of the material. It is also called surface-layer hardening. Heat treatment followed by rapid cooling effects selective change and transformation of the structure.

The laser heats the material locally to just below the temperature of the weld pool while moving along the surface to be hardened. This rapid cooling leads to formation of the hardened layer.

Track widths up to 15 mm can be created with the processing heads offered by OR Laser.

Laser hardening for increase of the mechanical strength of the cutting edge

Materials engineering

The table shows an overview of the employed powders and the hardness that can be realized.

Essentially, all usual plastic mold steels and powder-metallurgical steels (e.g. ASP, CPM, and similar) and aluminum alloys can be processed with laser deposition welding. The ROBOLASER can work with filler materials including cobalt-, nickel-, aluminum-, and iron-based alloys. Depending on the metals used, hardening may range from 20 to 63 HRC.